AP English Language & composition exam

PART VI

The Princeton Review AP English Language and Composition Practice Tests and Explanations

12

Practice Test 1

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

Three hours are allotted for this examination: 1 hour for Section I, which consists of multiple-choice questions, and 2 hours for Section II, which consists of essay questions. Section I is printed in this examination booklet. Section II is printed in a separate booklet.

SECTION I

Time—1 hour

Number of questions—54

Percent of total grade—45

Section I of this examination contains 54 multiple-choice questions. Therefore, please be careful to fill in only the ovals that are preceded by numbers 1 through 54 on your answer sheet.

General Instructions

DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL YOU ARE INSTRUCTED TO DO SO.

INDICATE ALL YOUR ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN SECTION I ON THE SEPARATE ANSWER SHEET. No credit will be given for anything written in this examination booklet, but you may use the booklet for notes or scratchwork. After you have decided which of the suggested answers is best, COMPLETELY fill in the corresponding oval on the answer sheet.

Example:

Chicago is a

(A) state

(B) city

(C) country

(D) continent

(E) village

Sample Answer

Many candidates wonder whether or not to guess the answers to questions about which they are not certain. Multiple choice scores are based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points are not deducted for incorrect answers, and no points are awarded for unanswered questions. Because points are not deducted for incorrect answer, you are encouraged to answer all multiple-choice questions. On any questions you do not know the answer to, you should eliminate as many choices as you can, and then select the best answer among the remaining choices.

Use your time effectively, working as rapidly as you can without losing accuracy. Do not spend too much time on questions that are too difficult. Go on to other questions and come back to the difficult ones later if you have time. It is not expected that everyone will be able to answer all the multiple-choice questions.

The inclusion of the passages in this examination is not intended as an endorsement by the College Board or Educational Testing Service of the content, ideas, values, or styles of the individual authors. The material has been selected from works of various historical periods by a committee of examiners who are teachers of language and literature and who have judged that the passages printed here reflect the content of a course of study for which this examination is appropriate.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

SECTION I

Time—1 hour

Directions: This part consists of selections from prose works and questions on their content, form, and style. After reading each passage, choose the best answer to each question and completely fill in the corresponding oval on the answer sheet.

Note: Pay particular attention to the requirement of questions that contain the words NOT, LEAST, or EXCEPT.

Questions 1-10. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.

In his 1729 essay “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift wrote the following:

1. This text can best be described as

(A) scientific

(B) satirical

(C) forthright

(D) humanitarian

(E) sadistic

2. In the first, second, and fourth paragraphs the author relies on dubious

(A) similes

(B) ad hominem arguments

(C) extended metaphors

(D) arguments from authority

(E) appeals to ignorance

3. “Probationers” (line 13) are

(A) children learning how to steal

(B) children on probation

(C) adults on probation

(D) apprentices working at a trade

(E) young artists

4. The phrase “the charge of nutriment and rags having been at least four times that value” (lines 24-26) is humorous because

(A) food was relatively cheap at that time

(B) “four times” is a hyperbole

(C) rags could be found free

(D) we don’t know who is being charged

(E) “rags” is unexpected diction

5. The word “fricassee” (line 35) is obviously a(n)

(A) animal

(B) child

(C) dish

(D) place

(E) master

6. In lines 36-44 the author adopts the standard rhetorical pattern of

(A) process analysis

(B) example

(C) cause and effect

(D) deductive reasoning

(E) analogy

7. The phrase “always advising the mother to let them suck plentifully in the last month” (lines 47-48) extends the comparison between the children and

(A) properly nourished mammals

(B) poor and ruthless parents

(C) savages

(D) animals raised for slaughter

(E) the poor treatment of animals

8. In line 58, “dear” means

(A) expensive

(B) sweet

(C) cherished

(D) unforgettable

(E) unhealthy

9. In context, “devoured” (line 60) is an effective word choice because

(A) it fits both figuratively and literally

(B) it is appropriate only literally

(C) it is indicative of the landlords’ plight

(D) it works as a sentimental appeal

(E) it reveals the author’s point of view

10. According to the author, the proposal

(A) makes good economic sense and helps the poor

(B) provides food for the needy and the rich, alike

(C) makes good economic sense but does not benefit the poor or rich

(D) benefits the rich in several ways

(E) benefits everyone in many ways

Questions 11-14. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.

46. In the speaker’s opinion, the Louisiana law is subject to censure by

(A) either the United States Congress or the United States Supreme Court

(B) Louisiana legislation only

(C) United States legislation only

(D) the people of Louisiana only

(E) neither the United States Congress nor the United States Supreme Court

47. The style of the entire passage can be best described as

(A) ornate and whimsical

(B) dry and objective

(C) abstract and legalistic

(D) terse and opinionated

(E) probing and subtle

Questions 48-54. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers.

48. The opening sentence of the passage contains

(A) an expression of fear

(B) an appeal to authority

(C) a humorous simile

(D) an irreverent attack

(E) equivocation

49. The speaker is addressing

(A) a friend

(B) a group of his peers

(C) a king

(D) a crowd of voters

(E) his political adversaries

50. The most significant transition takes place in

(A) line 10 (“I have thought it consistent …”)

(B) line 18 (“These were my objects …”)

(C) line 22 (“But as a feeling of honour …”)

(D) line 26 (“But, Sir, I will not …”)

(E) lines 30-31 (“I will not, Sir, undertake …”)

51. All of the following are part of the same extended metaphor EXCEPT

(A) “helm” (line 28)

(B) “vessel” (line 29)

(C) “fairly” (line 29)

(D) “course” (line 30)

(E) “unshackled” (line 41)

52. Which term in the first paragraph serves to prepare the dominant point of the final paragraph?

(A) “disaffection” (line 13)

(B) “enjoyment” (line 15)

(C) “dangers” (line 26)

(D) “tempestuous” (line 28)

(E) “unfettered” (line 35)

53. Based on the passage, the speaker’s motivation to serve as Prime Minister is dictated mostly by

(A) greed

(B) political ambition

(C) sense of honor

(D) political power

(E) youthful exuberance

54. The tone of the entire passage

(A) remains consistently cynical

(B) shifts according to the speaker’s mood

(C) shifts from light to serious

(D) becomes more frivolous in the final paragraph

(E) remains consistently lighthearted

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

SECTION II

Time—2 hours

Number of questions—3

Percent of total grade—55

Each question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.

Question 1 Synthesis Essay……………suggested time—40 minutes

Question 2 Essay……………suggested time—40 minutes

Question 3 Essay……………suggested time—40 minutes

(Additional 15 minutes for reading sources at the beginning of Section II)

Section II of this examination requires answers in essay form. To help you use your time well, the coordinator will announce the time at which each question should be completed. If you finish any question before time is announced, you may go on to the following question. If you finish the examination in less than the time allotted, you may go back and work on any essay question you want.

Each essay will be judged on its clarity and effectiveness in dealing with the requirements of the topic assigned and on the quality of the writing. After completing each question, you should check your essay for accuracy of punctuation, spelling, and diction; you are advised, however, not to attempt many longer corrections. Remember that quality is far more important than quantity.

Write your essays with a pen, preferably in black or dark blue ink. Be sure to write CLEARLY and LEGIBLY. Cross out any errors you make.

The questions for Section II are printed in the green insert. You are encouraged to use the green insert to make notes and to plan your essays, but be sure to write your answers in the pink booklet. Number each answer as the question is numbered in the examination. Do not skip lines. Begin each answer on a new page in the pink booklet.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

SECTION II

Time—2 hours

Question 1

(Suggested writing time—40 minutes.)

This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.

Carefully read the following six sources, including the introductory information for each source. Then synthesize information from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-written essay that develops a position on the most important consideration in granting suffrage to women in America.

Make sure that your argument is central; use the sources to illustrate and support your reasoning. Avoid merely summarizing the sources. Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. You may cite the sources as Source A, Source B, etc., or by using the descriptions in parentheses.

Assignment: Relying heavily on the sources that follow, write a well-organized essay addressing this prompt: In democratic nations today, the ability to vote is presumed. Many consider this right a “natural right,” while others consider it a privilege or even a civic duty.

You may refer to the sources by their titles (Source A, Source B, etc.) or by the descriptions in parentheses.

Source A (Anthony lecture)

Source B (Daily Graphic)

Source C (Hunt)

Source D (66th Congress)

Source E (Minor v. Happersett)

Source F (Woman’s Sphere)

Source A

In 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested and charged with voting illegally. The following passage is the opening of her lecture entitled, “Is It a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?”

Source B

Political cartoon by Thomas Wust, The Daily Graphic, 1873

Source C

An excerpt from Judge Ward Hunt’s instructions to the jury in the case of United States v. Susan B. Anthony, June 18, 1873.

Source D

Joint resolution of the 66th Congress, May 19, 1919.

Source E

Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. 162 (1874)

Source F

Nineteenth-century political cartoon.

Question 2

(Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)

The passages that follow were published shortly after the appearance of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). At that time, very few people knew the identity of the author. The first passage has been extracted from an anonymous piece from The Quarterly Review. The second passage is part of (Sir) Walter Scott’s review of Frankenstein in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine.

Read the passages carefully. Then write a carefully organized essay in which you compare and contrast the manner in which each critic uses language to convey a point of view.

Question 3

(Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)

Read carefully the passage below. Then write an essay in which you support, refute, or qualify the claim that a “neutral” stand on race perpetuates racial imbalance.